I don't know that I'm sold on the honey helping allergies thing. You would really have to eat local, fresh, natural untouched honey that was just harvested. Picking up a bottle off the shelf in the store isn't going to do anything. And you would have to consume it daily for a long while before possibly seeing results. I say meh, I've suffered from allergies my whole life and I'm allergic to everything outdoors related as well as dust and pet dander. I've learned to live with it and yes sometimes I have bad attacks and it sucks. But without proof that the honey will really help me I'd rather not start consuming it again. I also have three cats and my house is never dust free so I'm obviously ok with torturing myself!

i wish the honey helping allergy thing was true, or perhaps it is, but on a case by case, individual basis. the honey in the grocery store will not help since it is processed honey and all pollen and other stuff has been boiled and filtered out. raw honey is the way to go, but you need to consume a decent amount daily. i do have access to raw, literally local honey, and while i haven't had any lately, when i was having it fairly regularly/daily in the spring (before i went vegetarian later vegan) i didn't really notice anything. however, the guy that i used to buy it from, i suppose has been eating local raw honey (from his backyard!) for years and he says he has noticable a big improvement in his own allergy symtpoms

but agreed, i have severe seasonal allergies and a dog that i recently found out i'm allergic to (which explains some of the symptoms that developed after i adopted him! but he's a keeper forever and ever!) and our house isn't dust free or doghair-tumbleweed free either ;) it stinks sometimes but i just cope the best i can because, honestly, the idea of allergy shots are a bit scary to me.

_________________"....but I finally found block tempeh a few weeks ago with the intent to give it my virginity." -Moon

Is honey a usual ingredient in a lot of bread in the US? It's not here in Aus. It's funny, I've heard from quite a few people who've been to the US that the bread is in most cases a lot sweeter than our bread, so perhaps that's why? The culprits for our bread often not being vegan are milk powder, & emulsifiers & enzymes from questionable sources, not honey though.

Is honey a usual ingredient in a lot of bread in the US? It's not here in Aus. It's funny, I've heard from quite a few people who've been to the US that the bread is in most cases a lot sweeter than our bread, so perhaps that's why? The culprits for our bread often not being vegan are milk powder, & emulsifiers & enzymes from questionable sources, not honey though.

Honey is big in a lot of local breads places I've found. If people are going for the 'natural foods' angle honey sounds better than sugar and there isn't usually much in the bread anyway it's just to help the yeast along. A lot of people would look at the ingredients and think it is a natural sweetener whereas sugar is the devil's work.

I'm usually broke so I have to make compromises when it comes to honey, particularly how common it is in bread products. There was a blessed time when my supermarket stocked 3 varieties of vegan whole wheat bread - now there are none, so my choices are a) otherwise vegan bread with honey, b) vegan bread that costs x3 more somewhere else, c) affordable vegan bread with a drive. Practicality demands honey bread - and same goes for graham crackers, of which the honey-free varieties are at least $5 a box (versus honey graham's $1.50).

I also find agave nectar gross. It's too "high sweet" and tastes nasty in tea. Nothing I've tried is as good as honey in tea. :(

when we were little, my dad used to bring home hunks of honeycomb sometimes and hand us pieces of it, and we'd be like, "dad, we don't want it," and he'd be like, "no, it's so good, you want it, just eat it," and we'd be like, "but can we just lick off the honey?" even though we didn't like the honey anyway, and he'd be like, "no, it's so good! you like it! chew it like gum!" and we'd eat it but we'd hate it and we'd cry and dribble honey and angry kid spit and tears all over our oshkosh b'goshes. so i say honey tastes like blarrrgggh and wounded confusion and impotent rage, and agave tastes like something else that is clean and sweet and so much better, and i'm glad they have almost nothing in common.

Is honey a usual ingredient in a lot of bread in the US? It's not here in Aus. It's funny, I've heard from quite a few people who've been to the US that the bread is in most cases a lot sweeter than our bread, so perhaps that's why? The culprits for our bread often not being vegan are milk powder, & emulsifiers & enzymes from questionable sources, not honey though.

it's so. forking. hard. to find bread over here in a supermarket that isn't sweetened or sourdough. be it honey, sugar, corn syrup or molasses. guhhh. totally ruins a Vegemite sammich :(

I'm usually broke so I have to make compromises when it comes to honey, particularly how common it is in bread products. There was a blessed time when my supermarket stocked 3 varieties of vegan whole wheat bread - now there are none, so my choices are a) otherwise vegan bread with honey, b) vegan bread that costs x3 more somewhere else, c) affordable vegan bread with a drive. Practicality demands honey bread - and same goes for graham crackers, of which the honey-free varieties are at least $5 a box (versus honey graham's $1.50).

I also find agave nectar gross. It's too "high sweet" and tastes nasty in tea. Nothing I've tried is as good as honey in tea. :(

Oh for the day when I have a Real Career and will make more money...

i agree. i can't always go out of my way to our natural foods store to get single specific items, i tend to go when i have at least a few specific things on my list i want.

we consistently buy nature's own 100% whole wheat bread. it does have some funny processed ingredients and i have no idea if they plant or animal derived but this is what we buy. some brand's of arnold whole wheat bread have less ingredients in them and are vegan and we buy that bread when it's BOGOhttp://naturesownbread.com/products/Var ... holeWheat/

_________________"....but I finally found block tempeh a few weeks ago with the intent to give it my virginity." -Moon

Is honey a usual ingredient in a lot of bread in the US? It's not here in Aus. It's funny, I've heard from quite a few people who've been to the US that the bread is in most cases a lot sweeter than our bread, so perhaps that's why? The culprits for our bread often not being vegan are milk powder, & emulsifiers & enzymes from questionable sources, not honey though.

it's so. forking. hard. to find bread over here in a supermarket that isn't sweetened or sourdough. be it honey, sugar, corn syrup or molasses. guhhh. totally ruins a Vegemite sammich :(

Have you tried Dave's Killer Bread? I have had sweetened bread my whole life so I have no idea what the difference is unless it is white. I only eat whole wheat now unless it is focaccia or something.

mumbles wrote:

I am about to make a stand even more controversial than my decision to not care very much about whether I eat honey or not:

it's available most places I shop, so it's my common plan B. it's horribly sweet though, so I only tend to grab it when I'm otherwise in a bind. unless you know of a variety I haven't stumbled upon that isn't sweetened..though even the "light" bread is sweetened (both sugar AND molasses!), so I don't really hold much hope :P

Dave's Killer Bread is too sweet for me too - although I buy it because I like the way they support the Portland community. But if you can find Silver Hills bread, it is honey-free, made from sprouted grains, and not sweet! It's a British Columbia company, and I know they sell it widely in Costco in Canada - not sure about Costco in the U.S. I find it locally in New Seasons Markets, and QFC used to carry it.

_________________Formerly Kaleicious. I still love kale, but no more than lots of other garden greens too! Orach is currently my favorite.

I work at an orchard and we use bees to pollinate the trees at certain times of the year. I've never liked honey, but I have seen how much the beekeeper cares for his bees, and it's been fairly eye-opening. Commercial honey doesn't come from bees treated in this fashion, so I will always avoid it at all costs.

It was pretty amazing when a bee stung my eye a couple of months ago and I had an insane allergic reaction. I was all "I love you bees! I'm vegan! What are you doing to me?!?!".